How to Lower Blood Sugar Levels Naturally

If you are an American age 40 to 70, the odds are about 40 percent that you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes. (source) That means nearly HALF of us aged 40-70 have blood sugar regulation issues, likely from consuming too much sugar and too many refined carbs.

Has your doctor told you to monitor your blood sugar levels? Is your fasting glucose above 95 mg/dL? Most of us are aware that uncontrolled high blood sugar leads to type 2 diabetes, but it also contributes to weight gain, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, increased oxidation (read: accelerated aging), inflammation, and high blood pressure. ALL of these conditions are preventable via diet and lifestyle changes. Even if you have a family history of diabetes, you are not a slave to your genes. You can lower your blood sugar naturally to prevent disease and look and feel better.

What is High Blood Sugar?

Also called hyperglycemia or high blood glucose, high blood sugar means there is too much glucose circulating in your bloodstream because your cells have shut the door and will not receive any more glucose. Frequent or ongoing high blood sugar levels damage your nerves, blood vessels, and organs.

Fasting high blood sugar is considered higher than 130 mg/dL after 8 hours of fasting, and postprandial (after a meal) high blood sugar is higher than 180 mg/dL two hours after you eat. Your blood glucose shouldn’t rise over 140 mg/dL after meals.

Post-prandial blood sugar is just as important and should be 100-120 mg/dL two hours after you eat.

What Causes High Blood Sugar?

When you eat sugar or carbohydrates, the pancreas responds by secreting the hormone insulin to move excess glucose from the blood into the cells where glucose is used to produce energy. This is a normal and healthy response. If you eat too much sugar and/or too many carbs (especially refined carbs that break down quickly into sugars), your pancreas must secrete more and more insulin to usher glucose into the cells to prevent dangerously high blood sugar levels. But your cells don’t need any more glucose and lose the ability to respond to insulin. The cells shut the door; no more glucose allowed. The pancreas responds by pumping out even more insulin in an effort to get glucose into the cells, and this eventually causes insulin resistance.

Over time, insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes and prediabetes because the pancreas cannot keep up with the body’s increased need for insulin. Without enough insulin, excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream, leading to diabetes, prediabetes, and other serious health issues. Blood sugar levels continue to rise until the person is called diabetic.

Excess blood sugar also makes you fat. Insulin is a fat storage hormone. If the cells don’t need any more glucose, the remaining is converted to fatty acids, and insulin stores this excess as fat, typically in the stomach, hips, butt, boobs.

High insulin levels also contribute to hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure, making the person more susceptible to heart disease. The deadly trio of belly fat, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar is known as “metabolic syndrome,” and is a warning sign that you are at high risk for diabetes or heart disease.

How Do I Know if I Have High Blood Sugar?

The main symptoms of high blood sugar are increased thirst and frequent urination. The first step is to request a fasting blood draw to check fasting glucose and A1C levels. As mentioned above, ideal fasting blood glucose is 85 mg/dL, but under 100 is considered OK. Levels greater than 126 mg/dL are diagnostic for diabetes. An A1C under 5.7 percent is considered normal. An A1C between 5.7 and 6.4 percent is diagnostic for prediabetes, and an A1C equal to or above 6.5 percent is diagnostic for diabetes.

I often recommend purchasing an inexpensive glucometer so you can check blood sugar at home first thing in the AM and after meals.

1) I recommend avoiding most, if not all, grains until your blood sugar falls into normal range. Focus on a paleo type plan with plenty of veggies for the majority of your meals, with appropriate amounts of protein and healthy fats such as olive oil, butter/ghee, and coconut oil. Absolutely NO vegetable oils or hydrogenated oils that contribute to inflammation. That said, legumes (beans, lentils), which are typically eliminated on a paleo diet, have amazing benefits for lowering blood sugar for most people, and they’re a great source of fiber.

3) Make about half your plate veggies of all kinds, mostly the green leafys like kale and chard and the crunchies like broccoli and cauliflower. Use the starchy root veggies such as potatoes (sweet, red, purple, NOT Idaho) sparingly. Add about a palm size of organic protein such as egg, beef, lamb, poultry, wild seafood. Add avocado and/or olive oil, coconut oil, butter/ghee. Eat fruit, but don’t over do it: 2 pieces per day max, and stick to the lower glycemic berries, which offer wonderful antioxidant support.

If you get a sugar craving, small amounts of 70 percent or higher dark chocolate are acceptable.

Prickly pear cactus pads known as Nopales cactus contain a substance that is remarkably close to the drug Metformin, and can be very useful for lowering blood sugar regulation. Try them grilled with olive oil. They’re delicious and not hard to find.

How to Lower Your Blood Sugar Naturally: Supplement Protocol

ALWAYS check with your doctor before taking any herbs or supplements, because they have powerful blood sugar lowering effects that can cause blood sugar to drop too low if you’re on prescription drugs such as Metformin. One bonus to note is that I’ve had clients following my recommended diet and this protocol drop their prescriptions completely!

Look for supplements with the following: alpha lipoic acid, chromium, zinc, magnesium, cinnamon, fenugreek, gymnema, berberines. Most of the supplements recommended below contain these nutrients and herbs in balanced formulas.

How to Lower Your Blood Sugar Naturally: Lifestyle Adjustments

The holistic model means addressing all aspects of one’s life: diet, stress, exercise, lifestyle, emotional wellbeing. There are several modifications you can make to support healthy blood sugar.

Maintain healthy cortisol levels by addressing your stress levels. We all have stressful lives, but addressing stress and incorporating relaxation into your routine makes a world of difference in maintaining healthy stress hormone levels. High stress = high cortisol = high blood sugar and inflammation. Attention to adrenal support may be necessary. Cortisol is a primary hormone involved in blood sugar regulation, and if it’s too high or too low, you won’t have efficient blood sugar control.